Ngl @the_wendy has a point about those old brokers. Apps are just faster ways to win or lose on your own.

My buddy Mark had this old truck axle he got from a junkyard last year. He needed a heavy pry bar for his woodworking bench, so he cut and ground a piece of it down. What started as a quick fix turned into hours of filing and heating the steel to get the perfect curve (he gets really into details once he starts). Now, that pry bar hangs above his workbench, and he shows it off to visitors like it's a prized possession. It's not just a tool anymore, it's proof he can make what he needs from almost nothing. That pride in making stuff, it really sticks with you, you know?

Yeah @cameron_hernandez69 I was doubtful too until our neighborhood planted 500 trees together last spring.

My first hand planing project looked like a beaver got to it, totally butchered the wood. You're right about the shoulder pain, Tessa, I had to switch hands halfway through and still messed up. But getting the blade set just right that one time and seeing a perfect curl come off, it clicked for me. The fight with the tool makes you learn the wood in a way sandpaper never will. It's absolutely a fussy, slow way to work, but now I save it for special small stuff where that connection matters.

From a baking group I'm in, someone shared how their puppy got into the starter jar. (Pets and sourdough don't mix, apparently.) @the_quinn, if she knew about the dog before bringing over a new one, that's pretty careless. But the big question is whether she checked at all. It takes two seconds to look, so why wouldn't you? That kind of oversight can ruin someone's baking project for no reason.